For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Well, that’s good to know, Lord, but could you share those plans with me?

We planned to go north to Bismarck, North Dakota, to celebrate Thanksgiving with my son and his family. But three of that household contracted COVID-19. They are all feeling better and I’m so thankful for the miracle of healing, but we were not able to travel as planned.

The LWML Presidents Assembly was going to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, in person. This would have given the 40 LWML district presidents a preview of our convention city and they would have toured the convention center. But COVID-19 cases are up nationwide so I made the
difficult decision to change our meetings to a virtual format. Our plans are not always His plans.

I don’t know the plans my Lord has for me or for my loved ones, but I can rest in the knowledge that His plans are always for the good of His people. Wow — that’s easy to say, isn’t it? It’s harder to do — to trust. Psalm 28:7 says, The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart
trusts and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. But I do trust, by the grace of God. Trust and my faith — both gifts from the Father — both reasons to give thanks.

It’s good to have a day of Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite holidays. But I think I’ll keep one of my Thanksgiving decorations out year-round, to remind me each day to give thanks. I have a vase filled with wheat stalks from my farm. My father is with Jesus and hasn’t farmed for a number of years, but they are still a good reminder of the gifts He provides and the harvests yet to come.

I don’t know when we will be free of COVID-19. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know that I have a Father who has sent His Son for my salvation and who has a plan for my life. And that’s enough.

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.

Psalm 138: 1a

Today, and always, we are surrounded by HIS grace,
Debbie